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The Get Ahead Stylist educational series brought to you by Salon Shea. Every other month, we are offering classes taught by talented professionals that live and work through out our city and suburbs. Not backed by any brand or manufacturer, just stylists doing what we do best, sharing our knowledge and passion for hair.

To kick off the series, we'd like to welcome Fran Williams on April 6, 2015 from 10 am-12pm.

A top stylist at Mario Tricoci for 15 years, Fran has extensive training from Sassoon, Sam Villa, Jacques Dessange and Nick Arrojo. Would you like to master the techniques used to execute the short hair cuts trending for Spring? Fran will show you by working on a live model. Class size is limited. $25 for lunch and learning. To reserve your spot, leave a comment below.

What an incredible opportunity to learn from Joseph Mullen, a hair painting expert from NYC. His techniques are awesome! Rachel and Carolyne are excited to show you how great this is for clients that want highlights, but not the upkeep of traditional foils.

There's no denying that Jennifer Aniston has great hair. To replicate this look, Carolyne foiled in three different shades of blonde and then gave Jacey some long layers for soft movement. She styled using Living Proof's amazing Perfect Hair Day, 5-1 Styling Cream and then a barrel iron to finish off the look.

Like what you see? Make a comment below
and be entered to win this fabulous product for yourself. It's great for all hair types. Winner will
be announced on next week's post.

With over 17 years of experience, Jana knows that great service is not just in the haircut. From a complete transformation to a simple refresh on a classic cut, she is dedicated to delivering the best experience for you. One of Jana's favorite things to do is to
offer quick tips to her clients. We love this one because it gives you beach waves without the fuss. Here are Jana's simple steps.

1. Wash your hair with one of Living Proof's shampoos and conditioners.

2. After detangling, section your hair into three different parts. Two sides, one in back.

3. Spray on Living Proof's Instant Texture Spray.

4. Add a simple, traditional braid to each section. Loose braids will result in loose waves, tight braids will be tighter. You get the picture.

5. Let your hair set. Either sleep in it or dry each braid with your blow dryer.

6. Take down your braids and lightly mist with Living Proof's Flex Hairspray.

You've found your dream dress and the date is set. Now all that's left to do is create a picture perfect look. Airbrush makeup is the only way to go. Why? We're so glad you've asked. Airbrush makeup is heat resistant and custom blended to your individual skin tone. It's also not as heavy as traditional makeup, so your skin looks flawless from day to night.

There are a few things you need to do to prep your skin before your appointment. At home, it's recommended to exfoliate your face to remove any dry skin. This will allow for a smoother base for your makeup. Afterward, stick to your normal moisturizer to hydrate your skin. Don't forget to allow 45 minutes for a full make up application.

The bonus to airbrush makeup, it stays put. So go ahead, get as close as you want for that slow dance.

Salon Shea is excited to have blonde expert, Rachel Uskert, part of our team. Being a mega-blonde herself, Rachel is sought out by clients through out the northwest suburbs.

What's her #1 tip for caring for your tresses? Guarding your hair when thermal styling. Heat can take a toll on blonde hair,
so Rachel recommends Living Proof's Instant Protect. Instant Protect is a weightless spray that instantly provides protection up to 450°, 24 hour UV ray protection, while adding shine. Of course, its works on all hair types and is free of sulfates, silicones and oils.

Rachel is also trained in
Industrial Lengths tape in hair extensions. Want to learn more? We'd love for you to stop in or call to make an appointment with Rachel.

First off, Ecaille. A technique first started in France, it means tortoise shell. Ecaille features warm honeys and golden browns paired with a richer tone of your natural hair color. So say Bye-bye to your Ombre.

The first month of 2015 is almost over and a lot of changes have been happening at Salon Shea.

So what's new?

Carolyne's returned after a year of being on the road, learning new color techniques and honing her skills. She's excited to be back and doing what she loves....your hair.

Stop in and see our new retail items. We will be introducing versatile necklaces, rings, bracelets, earrings, and hair accessories. All personally selected by the ever stylish, Jenni.

Have you seen Tammy's new haircut? Sophisticated rocker is the way we describe it. Are you ready for a new, edgier style?

Did you know 80% of people have curly hair? 80%!!!! But, they don't wear it curly because of frizz or inconsistency in the curl pattern from day to day. Even with the millions of curl products in the market.

Well, Living Proof Curl, is changing all that! If you'd like to learn more about this newly launched product or any of the other Living Proof products, come in and talk to the super talented Jana.

With contacts all through out the country, NYC and LA, we hope we become your go to destination for the latest hair trends and expert tips in beauty, fashion and style.

You may do it practically every day, but do you really know how to wash your
hair the right way? Using the correct techniques can make a world of difference
in your hair’s health, bounce and shine — but if you’re making some common
mistakes, you could be damaging your strands without even knowing it.

1. Start with a
rinse.

Just like your laundry needs a rinse cycle before you add
detergent, hair should be thoroughly wet before you add your shampoo. “Hot water
will open the cuticle, which is good for removing any dirt or product trapped in
the hair,” says White. Another bonus: “When your hair is rinsed in warm water,
it loosens the oils through the scalp and opens the cuticle so it is able to
absorb the oil” in your conditioner, says Saviano.

2. If you have long hair, condition
first.

Yes, really! “If you have hair beneath the shoulders,
protect fragile ends from drying out and further damage by running a small
amount of conditioner through them and lightly rinsing, before any shampooing.
This will not only keep ends healthy, it will fill any holes in the cuticle with
moisture, making it smoother and boosting shine,” says White.

3. Lather up — but only at the scalp.

“You only need to shampoo the hair at the scalp,
particularly at the nape,” Saviano says.White agrees. “The best way to
lather up is from roots to ends. The hair closest to the scalp is the youngest
and will inevitably be the oiliest, while the end of the hair is the oldest and
usually driest, most fragile part of the hair.”

Don’t use more shampoo
than you need; both Saviano and White say that a quarter-sized amount of shampoo
is enough. If your hair is particularly long or thick, go ahead and double
that.

4. Be
gentle!

Friction can permanently damage your hair’s cuticle,
leading to breakage and frizz. Think about washing your hair like you hand wash
your delicates — very carefully.

“Start your lather at the roots,” says
White. “Increase blood flow to the scalp and stimulate hair growth by using
vertical strokes with medium pressure.” Don’t use circular motions, which can
tangle your hair.

Next, “Smooth the lather over the ends in a straight
stroking motion,” White advises. “Do not scrub the fragile ends or use a back
and forth motion like you’re washing a rag on a washboard.”

5. Don’t rinse and
repeat.

Despite what the instructions on the back of your shampoo
bottle may say, there’s no need to wash your hair twice. “Avoid stripping the
hair by doing one shampoo only, which is usually sufficient,” says White.
“Unless the hair is extremely dirty and the first shampoo didn’t produce a
lather,” in which case, go ahead and lather up one more time.

6. Add conditioner from the mid-lengths
to the tips.

After you’ve rinsed out your shampoo, “squeeze some
of the water out of the hair before you put in the conditioner,” says Saviano.
“Then clip your hair up and finish showering, leaving the conditioner rinse out
for the final step of your shower.” The longer the conditioner stays on your
hair, the better it absorbs. Don’t put conditioner at the roots of your hair;
the natural oil from your scalp is more concentrated there.

7. Finish with a cold water
rinse.

“Cold water will shut the cuticle tight, sealing the
shingle-like outer layer, which will cause it to reflect the most light and give
off the most shine,” says White.

Before I started doing hair, I never understood this because no one took the time to explain it to me. What your stylist means is that when your ends split, they will split up the strand until that hair breaks or falls out. The more hairs that do this, the thinner and “scragglier” the bottom of your hair will look (because there is less hair there). If you get a “dusting” which is a miniscule trim (.25-.5 inches), to remove the split ends and keep them from splitting up, roughly every two months, you’ll maintain and keep the hair you have longer- enabling you to have longer, healthier hair.

2. I am not a magician, but I do have magic potions, kind of.

I don’t magically change the texture, density, or curl pattern of your hair when I style it. I manipulate it with products. The reason your hair feels so much better after I smooth it than after you do, isn’t my hands, it’s the $33 dollar heat-protecting, smoothing spray I use. So when you say “I can never make it look like you do,” you may be using non-professional hair products. It’s not magic, it’s science.

3. Why my products are better than Walgreen’s.

Piggy-backing off that, the reason salon products are so much better than drug store ones is simple: Chemists. The highest expense in any industry is salary/personnel. When developing hair products, the most qualified (hence highest paid) chemists are working in the labs of brands like Oribe. For Oribe to make money on their products after paying these geniuses, they have to make their products more expensive than Pantene Pro-V who simply make cheap knock-offs, laden with cheap ingredients.

4. Coloring your hair and lightening it are not the same.

In fact, they are opposite processes. “Coloring” your hair darker, or to a different shade about the same color level, involves depositing color molecules into the hairshaft. Lightening it (“highlighting,” “blonding,”) is the process of removing the melanin (color molecules) from your hair, causing it to look lighter (blonder) or if all the color molecules are removed, white/platinum. Number 5, is the reason you need to get this.

5. “Color doesn’t lift color.”

While taking your color darker isn’t a problem, if you come in with dark brown hair and want light-brown hair, I cannot just put a light brown color over it. It won’t do any more than if you put light brown ink on top of black ink. I’d just be stuffing more molecules into your hair-shaft. To give you lighten brown, I have to lighten it all over to a blonde-ish color, and then put the light brown on top of that.

6. Just because that’s your “natural hair color” it doesn’t mean you have natural hair.

As stylists, we refer to “natural” (or virgin) hair, as hair that has never been touched by chemicals. Your hair grows about 6 inches a year. If you have 20 inches of hair and haven’t colored your hair in a year, you’ll have 6 inches of new growth, and 14 inches of previously colored hair, so even though it looks natural, it isn’t. I need to know this so I can formulate your color appropriately. I’m not judging you if you’ve colored your hair. It will just make things easier for us when formulating, if you're upfront with us from the start your results will be more predictable.

7. Time is money.

Most stylists work on commission or in a booth-rent situation, they pay a weekly rent to their salon owner. When you no-call, no-show, or call to cancel at the last minute, your stylist doesn’t make money.

8. Tipping is appreciated

Tip your stylist. Unless your salon has a no tipping policy, your stylist is really hoping and sometimes depending on tips. Go on a percentage system, give what you can or feel is deserved, but give something. It’s always better than nothing.

9. I’d rather fix your hair than you be unhappy.

Most stylists are happy to fix your hair if you’re unhappy with it. If you hate your hair and go around telling people that I messed up your hair, that’s bad for my business. Most good salons have redo policies where you can come back and see your stylist for tweaks and fixes, for no charge. Simply be polite and let us know. If someone truly messes up your hair (cuts it wonky, fries it off, turns it an off color), maybe just bite the bullet and go somewhere else. If they didn’t recognize and note their mistake, they’re either lazy, dishonest, or they don’t really know what they’re doing. Lastly on this point, if you go for a change and don’t like it, that doesn’t mean your stylist did a bad job. There’s a difference between you changing your mind and the stylist doing something wrong. Which leads us to our final hint-

10. High expectations

You might not look or feel exactly like Jennifer Aniston, because you are not her and just because you bring in a picture of Jennifer Anniston, it doesn’t mean your hair will be identical. You don’t have the same hair (or hair history)

NEVER run your flat iron over the same
piece of hair twice. It’s actually counter productive to keep going over and
over the same piece of hair, and highly damaging. Aim for one slow pass down
each section of hair.

ALWAYS
use a thermal heat protectant that coats the hair with protective ingredients
(usually silicone-based) to reduce the amount of damage caused by high heats
from flat irons and curling irons.

NEVER put a high-heat product on wet or damp
hair, even if the tool claims to be a ‘wet-to-dry’ product.

ALWAYS be aware of your curling patterns.
Curling the hair away from the face opens up the face and neck more and is
generally more flattering, however using an alternating pattern of pieces curled
towards and away will give a more natural result.

NEVER start with your heat settings at the
highest point. Even the thickest curls don’t need to be tended to at 400 degrees
Fahrenheit — start low and if you feel like you need more, adjust slowly.
Remember: With both curling and straightening, it’s not about how the hair heats
up, but the way it cools back down into formation.

ALWAYS apply mousse (for curls) or a
straightening balm (for flat ironed lengths) to assist the process. Working with
mousse first for hold allows you to avoid excessive hairspray at the end.

Hair can be pretty deceiving when it comes to density and fullness. For many of you, you may have a lot of hair, but it just happens to be a lot of very fine strands. This gives off the appearance that your hair is flat and dull, which can be very hard to style (who doesn’t want that Victoria’s Secret Angel blowout?) exactly how you want to. Never fear though, because broken down the top tips and tricks to getting your hair to new heights – and to faking the thickness that we all know you want.

Shampoo: Opt for a more invigorating shampoo that will really get the follicles on your scalp to perk up. Try Bumble and Bumbles thickening shampoo for a thick root look. Really work your shampoo onto your head too by massaging your scalp, stimulating blood flow.

Conditioner: Here is where a lot of products that weigh your hair down get snuck into your daily routine. Steer clear of anything that says “hydrating” and “smoothing” on the bottle because these most likely have oils in them that will keep your hair from gaining volume. Try Bumble and Bumble Thickening conditioner.

Blowdrying: First step, spray a heat protectant all over hair. Be sure to flip your head over and start blowdrying with a round brush. After the dampness is gone, flip the hair back over and begin to blow dry the rest in sections.

Velcro Rollers: After blow drying hair, set front pieces in velcro rollers and clips for about 20 minutes to maintain high volume.

Tease: Let the rollers out and lightly tease the parts of hair at the crown of your head.

Root Lifter: After teasing, spritz a small amount of root lifter in your hair to make sure your roots stay up. This can be in either mousse or spray form just make sure not to put in too much product to work against you and weigh hair down in the process.

Hairspray: Look for hairsprays that have thickening or volumizing agents built into them to help with your fine hair. Use them to set your overall look.

Layers: The next time you head to Salon Shea to get your hair cut, give layers a try. By layering sections of hair, a texturized look is created which gives off the sense of thicker hair.

Brushing: Don’t brush your hair too often, this stimulates oils from the scalp which will make hair flat. If you must fix your hair with some sort of a tool, opt for a wide-tooth comb.

Washing Your Hair: We know you have probably heard this about three thousand times but do not wash your hair everyday. You will benefit from this by getting fuller looking hair at the roots, and just use dry shampoo in-between washes!